My Fitness Didn't Translate

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I was in the same circus...ride ride ride! I finally added yoga two days a week and a personal trainer one night a week and boy did I transform my body....I still ride almost every day around 15-25 miles depending on the soreness:)

4 loops around Central Park is 24 miles.

Being from Manhattan, I only run when I'm being chased.
 
Agree with flyboy08 on the yoga. Have a look at Sean Vigue power yoga for athletes. You'll want to start slow and go easy at first and you'll be tender in some muscle groups that you never knew you had. Combine that with cycling, pushups, dumbells, burpees etc. and you'll be a lean mean diving machine.
 
You did not say how old you are. I am all for keeping fit but as you age you have to be careful. On the advice of my orthopedic doctor I have quit doing some of the exercises in the circuit at the gym. In fact now I just swim and do long walks. With a couple of not so good shoulders and missing a disc in my lower back the exercises were doing more harm than good. I will also note that if wearing a heavy wet suit swimming is more work than in a 3mm. You are working against the wet suit on every kick. I do not notice it during the dive but on a long surface swim it is noticeable.
 
I just got back from a cold water, ocean dive trip and have realized that I need to get in better shape. I am a former overweight smoker who now is tobacco free, an appropriate weight, and I exercise 5-7 days a week. The problem is that my exercise routine is almost exclusively road biking or using an exercise bike because these are convenient and I enjoy them. So I am aerobically fit, and I have strong thighs. However my upper body, core, and to some degree my calves and feet are weak. I need to readjust my fitness routine to target the muscle groups used when diving.

I need help identifying the specific exercises that will translate to diving. If at all possible, I would like to be able to see videos of the exercises being performed appropriately. I have seen a few "dive exercise routines" posted online, but they rarely have pictures and often use names for their exercises that don't match up to what I can search for online.

Here are the specific things that I felt were overly difficult for me.
  • Wearing my BCD with tank and walking long distances to the water while fully weighted for cold water diving. This killed my shoulders. I wanted to stop walking and lean forward to take the weight off my shoulders.
  • Long surface swims from the shore through kelp against the surge. My legs were on fire and I felt winded before the dive started. My strong biking leg says didn't help at all, since the muscle groups were completely different.
  • Lugging and loading tanks and gear bags loaded with weights. I am a man that is slight of build. Lifting HP100s and dive bags full of gear and weights, in and out of vehicles to get around to the dive sites, drained me quick.

Any ideas?

I'm not fitness guru but a few years ago I was pretty fit and I found that running (40-50km per week) combined with weight lifting a couple of days a week did the trick for me.

And when I say "weight lifting" I just used those machines at the gym that take all the thinking out of it. Like I said, I'm no fitness guru.

R..
 
To varying degrees you described me in your original post. Last year diving I was out of shape and obese. Ive been doing a general workout focusing on overall fitness including alot of cardio. It helped my diving a ton this year. Id join a neighborhood gym and work with a trainer. (what I did) Leverage their knowledge and experience.
 
I'm not fitness guru but a few years ago I was pretty fit and I found that running (40-50km per week) combined with weight lifting a couple of days a week did the trick for me.

And when I say "weight lifting" I just used those machines at the gym that take all the thinking out of it. Like I said, I'm no fitness guru.

R..

Weight machines are of limited value. Free weights are a far more effective workout. Don't be afraid to try them. I am 51 years old and I can Deadlift 440lbs and bench over 300. I started freewieghts a few years ago and it was the smartest thing I ever did.
 
I had NO fitness when I started diving. My starting point was "sloth." :D I started snorkeling laps over the winter. I do it with a kickboard as the focus was on my kick/leg strength. The cardio is a nice side effect. I do a mile twice a week, need to up it to 3 times a week. Takes me an hour to do that mile.

Due to 2 bum knees and sciatica on my left hip, doc said to swim only. She was very pleased when I went for my annual physical several weeks ago.

I do yoga to a YouTube video 2-3 times a week.

The legs muscles I now have make walking in/out of the water at the local quarries much easier (one involves a good incline). Last weekend I attempted a deep water exit by climbing the ladder, all geared up, 21 lbs of weight. I made it. Buddy had to pull on my tank valve some to assist some, but I was happy I was able to do it. During OW, I wasn't able to do it, even with weights pulled. Had to take off my BC and hand it all up. I'm boat diving on Lake Michigan this weekend - first boat dives (fin on ladder) - and it's going to be interesting to see if I can climb that ladder fully geared up. I'll take off my BC if needed and hand it up. I'll tip the crew well if I do that. :D
 
I just got back from a cold water, ocean dive trip and have realized that I need to get in better shape. I am a former overweight smoker who now is tobacco free, an appropriate weight, and I exercise 5-7 days a week. The problem is that my exercise routine is almost exclusively road biking or using an exercise bike because these are convenient and I enjoy them. So I am aerobically fit, and I have strong thighs. However my upper body, core, and to some degree my calves and feet are weak. I need to readjust my fitness routine to target the muscle groups used when diving.

I need help identifying the specific exercises that will translate to diving. If at all possible, I would like to be able to see videos of the exercises being performed appropriately. I have seen a few "dive exercise routines" posted online, but they rarely have pictures and often use names for their exercises that don't match up to what I can search for online.


  • Wearing my BCD with tank and walking long distances to the water while fully weighted for cold water diving. This killed my shoulders. I wanted to stop walking and lean forward to take the weight off my shoulders.

Dumbbell shrug. Dumbbell Shrug for videos. I do these.

  • Long surface swims from the shore through kelp against the surge. My legs were on fire and I felt winded before the dive started. My strong biking leg says didn't help at all, since the muscle groups were completely different.

Go to the pool and swim with fins on. It's what I do. Don't use diving fins -- they're too big. Instead get some cheap rubber full-foot swim fins. Here are the ones I have: https://www.swimoutlet.com/p/sporti-training-swim-fins-(color)-23088/

  • Lugging and loading tanks and gear bags loaded with weights. I am a man that is slight of build. Lifting HP100s and dive bags full of gear and weights, in and out of vehicles to get around to the dive sites, drained me quick.

That will take more than one exercise. I would suggest a combination routine made up of:
1) barbell squats
2) barbell deadlifts
3) barbell bench press
4) Dumbbell bent-over row

I do all these every week.

exrx.net has videos of all these. They may take some practice to learn and you will have to start at lower weights if you're new to this.

If you learn the exercises, and do them several times a week, over the course of six months or more, you'll notice a huge difference.

Good luck on your journey.
 
I don't have anything special for the pool. Use my split fins and regular mask I use for diving (snorkel only gets used in the pool - I hate the danged thing - aside from classes when I'm forced to have it).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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